In his Aug. 27 letter, "MacArthur's 'truth' for Australians," Charles Ainsworth asked about the awkward truths relating to the treatment of black American soldiers by Australia during World War II. Sadly, the record is an ignominious one.
An estimated 1 million American soldiers passed through Australia during the war, and the Australian government definitely did not want to see blacks among them. The American armed services generally went along with these wishes, including Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who may have had no choice but to defer to the racist wishes of the Australian hosts.
After the war, the situation was no better. Prime Minister Ben Chifley, who was in power from 1945-1949, and his Immigration Minister Arthur Calwell were both staunch supporters of the White Australia policy. Not only were black Americans unwelcome; the government, by and large, disallowed the Japanese wives of Australian servicemen from settling there, and even went so far as to reject visas for American nisei soldiers who wished to come to Australia.
As for black Americans, it was thought that they would "stir up" the Aborigines with ideas of equality and the white Australian women with promises of nylon stockings, among other things. Thankfully, this out-and-out racism as official government policy is a thing of the past.